Archive for Montreal Canadiens

The Habs’ recent playoff success has captivated the imagination of the entire province. Yet there is an interesting subtext in the current fervor towards the Montreal Canadiens. More than a few times, I saw younger fans being interviewed on TV wishing for their own heroes after hearing about the hockey heroes of time past. In the current salary-capped NHL, there is a high degree of parity in the league, evidenced by two teams ranked 18th and 19th overall facing off for the conferance final. The age of dynasties is over, and the nostalgia during the Canadiens Centennial celebrations seemed to weigh on the contemporary teams, expectations amplified by the Habs history. Now it seems more fans are ready to recognize the new NHL reality, and enjoying the Canadiens making it farther in the playoffs since they won the last cup, 17 years ago. A new generation of fans is hoping for a taste of what their parents often took for granted for many decades: A reduced gap between championships.

The party was shortlived as the Habs were trounced 6-0 in game one by the other “Cinderella” team these playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers. A tough, talented and hardworking team that made a historic comeback, unseen in 35 years, from a 0-3 deficit to win 4 straight to advance and face the Canadiens. They carried that momentum into game 1, and now looks like a formidable adversary, unlike what was described by some hockey analysts and overconfident fans.

I’ve heard some valid arguments against organized professional sports as “bread and circuses”, a distraction for the masses to keep attention away from the problems of society. Men with sticks getting paid millions for pushing a rubber disk around and the fanatics cheering them on. The enthusiasm is undeniable and contagious nonetheless. The Montreal Canadiens are an notable part of the culture of this city. A mere advancement to a quarter final caused celebrations rivaling other teams winning championships (see video below). What else can I say, but Go Habs Go!!

I’ve been anticipating this game for months. My favourite team, the Montreal Canadiens were playing the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburg Penguins. We were lucky enough to have a generous friend give us two hockey tickets in the Desjardins section, a place where hotdogs pizza, ice cream and many other goodies are all free, so we prepared to get our yearly supply of nitrates by having a very light breakfast before this afternoon game. Gotta love my honey though, she has recently been more interested in the sport, and she can analyze the team as well as I can.

Despite the low likelihood they would win, as the Habs had suffered a scoring drought and been decimated by injuries to their top players, there is nothing like entering the Cathedral of Hockey, the Bell Centre where the banners of twenty four Stanley Cups hang proudly .I was getting a double header of spectacle that afternoon seeing Avatar (great eye-candy, could have used a better script) after the game. After getting the tickets to the movie, we walked the short distance to the Molson Centre, which appeared extremely long due to the nippy weather. We were looking for the shortest route to the game, and we were lucky to follow a couple of guys wearing Habs jerseys to enter the holy shrine. On the way, we noticed some kids asking money for charity in this frigid weather. Shame on the charity for making them beg under these conditions. I ranted to my honey on the way to arena, but decided to shake that off and enjoy the afternoon.

There is something to be said to being there live, we see the line-changes on the fly, something one can’t appreciate on tv as well as the thuds on the boards somehow seem more resonant. and then there is the crowd, which is think is the greatest reason to go to the game. It is the collective experience, the jubilation after the goal, the shared disgust of a missed penalty call, encouraging our gladiators, and giving them hell when they are mailing it in. Montreal has been called the best place when you win, and the worst place when you lose in the NHL.

We hear a young fan screaming encouragement to his idols: “Away Plekanek! Away Markov” which was endearing for a bit, until he was listing the entire roster for about half a period. Then it became tiresome, and I thought “Away little kid… far away!”. The Molson Ex section, which look like the worst seats in the arena seems the loudest, animated by cheerleaders, yet their exuberance was disproportional to their animators and it made me begin speculating whether they were getting free beer, as we were getting free food. A guy dancing spastically in a Captain America costume behind the goalie’s net robs a couple of kids of the spotlight on the “crowd cam”. T-shirts getting launched into the crowd from the ice during the intermission with these “bazookas”, we both watched in awe at the distance they reached. None of this can be appreciated on television.

The Habs with a roster full of minor leaguers managed to surprise the champs by the score of 5-3, and the crowd was jubilant. I often wondered why people go to church, since I often analogize the Canadiens as Montreal’s “religion”. At the end of it all, it is about the gathering, a way of getting a collective experience, and a pretext to solidify our connection to the “tribe”. So we cheer the battles on the ice, the thunderous body check, the powerful slapshot, but are concerned when anyones’ hurt. There was a gasp as the best defenseman Alexei Markov took some time to get up after colliding against the boards. Hockey can be a violent sport, yet there is grace, power and speed that is undeniable.

The Canadiens are likely to miss the playoffs, which is sacrilege in this hockey mad city. There are arguments to “tank the season” which involves trading talented but high priced veterans for younger players and draft picks. But the luxury of rebuilding is not one that would be easily tolerated in Montreal. the very idea verbalized is blasphemy, but now as the Habs’ last Stanley cup is seventeen years away, and with the era of dynasties over. A few fans and commentators are denounced as heretics for suggesting rebuilding. The GM Bob Gainey has resigned after failing to deliver on his 5 year plan to a Cup, and many talented free agents, especially francophones don’t want to play here, due to the intense pressure and media scrutiny. I don’t see The Big Trophy coming anytime soon.

Hockey here is intimately connected to politics and language, as the president of the team suddenly declared that he needed a bilingual GM to helm the team, shrinking the pool of talent to replace Gainey. The team, the NHL’s oldest is steeped in tradition, but are likely to remain a middling team, without a major rebuild and youth movement, which involves losing. A lot. While the Molson Centre continues to be sold out, it is unlikely management will change direction. The butts are in the seats, the profits being made.

President Pierre Boivin hired Pierre Gauthier, a man who has experience, but has been a part of the organization for almost seven years as head of scouting and assistant GM, thus it could be argued he’s also responsible for failure to ice a contending team. The coach Jacques Martin is also signed for a 3 additional years, so it is likely more of the same. Perhaps fans will see that the expectation on this team are too great, and perhaps will have to settle to see good young talent which will lose a good share of games while the learn the ropes. But that wont happen, as most fans, media, and the Habs management are filled with entitlement, spoiled by the decades of plenty. Tradition doesn’t lace up skates, give a body check and score goals. Yet tradition is why many fans continue to fill the Molson Centre. They are hoping for heroes. No Lafleurs, Richards, Beliveaus and Cournoyers so far. The famed “ghosts” are gone, and an increasing amount of fans are beginning to realize it.

Another reason to watch the Habs? I guess it is also a soap opera, even when they are losing there is drama, something to raise our temperatures in frigid weather. My honey enjoys ranting, yet I often remind her, this is supposed to be fun, to enjoy the game, and it’s nothing to get too frustrated about. Some people take it pretty seriously, some even are considering boycotting Molson beer (owners of the team) in internet fan forums to improve the product on the ice. The hundred anniversary celebration has left the city nostalgic for old glory that is unlikely to occur again in a thirty team league.

As for me, I enjoy the athleticism, and exchanging speculation with my fellow analyst over the team and players, cheering goals so loud we disturb the neighbours, ranting over lost calls, and calling bullshit on the often heard promises of a competitive team. My honey is not a sports widow, and often clues me on on Hab news, so I am very fortunate. At least until she gets sick of the lousy play we’ve seen recently. Until then “Go Habs, Go!”

I never dreamed of playing pro hockey as a youngster, but enjoyed playing the game. I discovered I was a lousy skater and didn’t like waking up early on Saturdays. Eventually, I played street hockey with friends until my mid-teens. I’ve followed the Montreal Canadiens (or Habs as they are called informally) ever since I was a kid, even while my interest in actually playing hockey eroded. There is nothing very unusual about this, and likely its occurred to many fans of other sports. What intrigues me about watching and following sports is that it different from any other pasttime, it isn’t like being a fan of our favourite TV show. We can get euphoric and depressed when our favourite team wins or loses, my uncle used to literally cry when his pet soccer team lost some “important” game. In Montreal, hockey is a religion, and there is even a university course exploring such themes . Some goalies, past and present are often given nicknames alluding divinity (“Jesus” Price, St. Patrick). Some didn’t even wait for a championship to riot , just after a first round win.

Don’t get me wrong, watching hockey is a fine diversion during these frigid months of winter, yet recently Montreal has caught Habs fever, even former GM and player Serge Savard has opined that they are currently more popular than when they had won the four Stanley Cups. I often found the “Habs as religion” premise as fun hyperbole, something Hab fans tell one another to exaggerate the devotion to the team, and the craziness that surrounds the Canadiens, especially in the media. But I got a glimpse of it one night when we made plans to watch a game with some friends. I haven’t been to a sports bar for a few years and I thought it would be fun. It was a very cold night (under -20C), so we didn’t expect a large crowd at this particular bar. We arrived late and the place was PACKED, and everyone looked at us like we walked in the middle of Sunday service. The audacity of us coming in late to the sacrament, the rambuncious church that every pub has become, worshipping the Holy Habs. How dare us be late and expect to find a seat??!! We bolted and had a very pleasant evening at a good Thai restaurant closeby, no screen showing the game, and I didn’t miss it.

Some curious thoughts about this pastime of mine often invade my mind. Why do I watch this? I can dismiss it easily as just entertainment, but I feel its more than that. Millionaire players payed by billionaire owners that often don’t even live here, playing for the highest bidder with specialized skills no one really needs. Do they represent us? People proudly wearing a team logo which is now just a corporate logo. Why aren’t I playing a game instead of watching others play? Isn’t that the way, not only in sports but in other endeavours, like the arts and music? We watch the skilled without developing our own skill, we are mesmerized by mastery too much to attempt competency. We cheer athletes, actors, musicians, politicians. We watch, but what to we do? We absorb media, but do we create it?